In the summer of 2017, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh, Scotland, where my grandfather Hugh Simmers worked as a projectionist from 1916 to 1917. Originally called the King Cinema, it’s the oldest continuously operated movie theater in Scotland, dating back to 1914. It specializes in art films.
Hugh ran the projectors there before he left to fight in WWI, serving in the Royal Horse Artillery, then emigrated to the United States. Cinema’s management was nice enough to let me walk up an old flight of stairs to the projection room where I had a short talk with the current projectionist. He told me that in the old days, when my grandfather worked there, movies were shown with two projectors. He pointed to the outline of a second porthole, now closed in with ductwork, that accomodated the second projector.
Back then movies came on multiple reels. The projectionist would look for a cue mark, or “cigarette burn,” in the upper right-hand corner. There were two on each reel — one signified that a changeover was coming up and a second signaled the change. Since films were projected at 24 frames per second, projectionists could figure out when the end of the film was coming and provide an uninterrupted viewing.
Physically segregated projection booths were a relatively new development during Hugh’s time. Projectors, which used to be located in the main theater, were moved to their own space due to concern over the safety of nitrate film. Laws such as the Cinematography Act of 1909 in the United Kingdom required projection rooms to be equipped to prevent, fight, and contain fires. Special, high-grade glass, through which films were projected, separated the projection room from the main auditorium. Films were often rewound in a separate room where the theater’s entire collection of films were stored in sealed steel bins. No smoking was allowed in the projection room today. Coiled ductwork vents heat from the remaining projector.
The theater interiors are still pretty much the same as in the old days. A terrazzo floor greets visitors, and one of the original pair of ticket kiosks remains. A welcoming arched foyer leads to the main cinema. Theater seating was rearranged through the years to improve sight lines and comfort. A drapers shop formerly on this site was converted to create the entry. The auditorium was built on ground out back that had been used by a riding school. 
When my grandfather worked there, the theater only played silent films with orchestral accompaniment. An all-female orchestra brought the films to life in the first week. The cinema was fitted for sound in 1930. Local entrepreneur Jim Poole bought the cinema in 1949 and refurbished it, displacing rats that reportedly lived there. He turned the establishment into an art house cinema and forged a relationship with the nascent Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Poole made more history when he took over an adjacent shop in 1963 and turned it into a bar, which is still open. It was the first licensed cinema bar in the city. Fittingly, local celebrity Sean Connery, who was born nearby, was on hand to open the bar. Neighboring shops were acquired in 1986 to create second and third screens with limited seating capacity; they opened opened in the early 1990s.
The plaster work within the theater and foyer — columns, cornices, and decorative molding — has been lovingly restored and protected from future alterations. Historic Scotland upgraded the conservation status of the cinema in 2006 after new owners proposed a major renovation. After my tour of the projection room was complete, I sat through an agonizingly dull showing of The Beguiled, a sappy Civil War saga starring Nicole Kidman. It was all I could do to remain in my seat. I spent most of the time gazing at the molding in the ceiling. When I tried to take pictures of the interiors during the showing, an usher told me to turn off my phone. Sorry.
